Remote devices, such as portable data terminals (PDTs), portable data assistants (PDAs), and other devices used for automatic identification and data collection (AIDC) generally provide data at remote locations back to a central office. Sometimes these devices have the ability to monitor the operation of the device and to provide device status information to the central office. Such a remote device is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0185432 A1 to Caballo et al. which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The remote devices can have the ability to have their configuration changed or to have a new application program installed while away from the central office. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0044003 A1 to Berthiaume et al. teaches such a method, and is hereby incorporated by reference.
The remote devices can be managed by Remote Device Management (RDM) systems that allow an RDM user to manage the remote devices including updating configurations and device software, and to track problems which may be common to several devices, and provide fixes for these problems where feasible.
However, some RDM systems accumulate vast amounts of diagnostic and performance data. Organizing the data in a clear, concise, meaningful, and intuitive way on the graphical user interface of a computer display is a problem. Either too much data is presented so as to be cluttered and confusing, or the user has to navigate through multiple, sometimes non-intuitive, dialogs to access desired information.
It will be appreciated that for purposes of clarity and where deemed appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated in the figures to indicate corresponding features.